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From Dociiiiient TVo. 229 

OP 

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

3d SESSION 25th CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, 
CONTAINING 

ALLEGATIONS of FRAUD 

«'IN RELATION TO THE SETTLEMENT 

OF THE 

CLAIillS OF THE HALF BREED RELATIVES 



OF THE 



WINNEBAaOE INDIANS/ 

IN WHICH CASE THE COMMISSION OF 

General Simon Cameron 

WAS SET ASIDE. 



The original paper being noiv on file in the WAR DEPARTMENT 
in the city of IVashington. 



(From the St. Louis Reporter.) 

SCARCELY JUSTICE.— We undevstanrt that the commissioner to 
re-examine and adjust the various claims under the V\innebago 
treaty has preformed that duly, and left Prairie du Chien. Gen. 
Cameron and Mr. Broadhead forced to abandon the S60,000 on the^r 
infamous speculation, receiving but per cent for the use oft he 
money actually employed in the half-breed claims. It woold havo 
been nearer justice if ihey had been forced to lose the whole ium. 
This is the reward due their conduct. 



Harrisburs^, Pa., 18 3 9. 



■ /./.■?-/ 



fj".. 



EXECUTIOJV OF TREATY 

WITH THE 



War Department, 

July 21, 1838. 

Sir : By direction of the President, you are appointed a commis- 
sioner to examine claims of half-breed relatives of the Winnebago 
Indians, and debts due by the same Indians, for the payment of which 
provision was made in the treaty concluded with them on the 1st of 
November, 1837. You will be allowed S8 for every twenty miles of 
travel, by the shortest and most direct practicable route, from your 
residence to Prairie du Chien, in Wisconsin Territory, and thence 
home, and for every twenty miles of necessary travel in the Indian 
country; and S8 for every day actually and necessarily otherwise 
spend in the execution of your duties while there. You are autho- 
rized to draw Bills of exchange on the Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs, if at any time you should desire to do so, for such sums as 
may be due to you on account of mileage or services. These bills 
will be accompanied by accounts, showing, in detail, dates, distances, 
terms of service, &c., attested by your certificate. 

Instructions for the execution of your duties v, ill be transmitted to 
you by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 

Very, &c. 

J. R. POINSETT. 

General Simon Cameron, 

Middletown, Pennsylvania. 
SimiUr letter to James Murray, dated August 1, 1838. 



War Department, 

0/Jice Indian Affairs, July 26, 1858. 

Sir : I have the honor to transmit an appointment constituting you 
a commissioner to examine claims against the Winnebago Indians, of 
November 1st, 1837. For the instructions that will govern you in 
the execution of your duties, I beg leave to refer you to the accom- 
panying copy of those to the commissioners appointed to examine 

1 



4 Doc. No. 229. 

similar claims under the treaty with the Sioux Indians. That part of 
them which contemplates an inquiry to ascertain the members of the 
tribe interested in tlie land ceded grew out of the peculiar phraseo- 
logy employed in that treaty, and has no application to that with the 
AVinnebagoes. Mr. G. W. Featherstonhaugh, jr. has been appointed 
secretary to your board, and directed to report to you in person at 
Prairie du Chien by the 20th August next. This day has been named 
with reference to all the circumstances of the case ; and I have to 
request that you will make your ari-angements to reach the same place 
at that time. 

Governor Dodge, the superintendent of Indian Affairs in Wisconsin 
Territory, and Major T. A. B. Boyd, the sub-agent for the Winne- 
bagoes, have been notified of your appointment, and directed to co- 
operate with you in any way the board may indicate. 

Very &c. 

C. A. HARRIS. 

General Simon Cameron, 

Middletown, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania. 

P. S. The appointment of joint commissioner with you has been 
tendered to Mr. Hardenbury, of New Jersey; but a few days will 
eslape before it will be known whether he will accept it. 

C. A. H. 



War Department, 
Office Indian Affairs, July 26, 1838. 

Gentlemen : I have the honor to communicate to you the instruc- 
tions of this Department, for the execution of the duties devolved 
upon you as commissioners, to execute certain provisions of the treaty 
with the Sioux ot the Mississippi of the 29th of September, 1837, a 
copy of which is enclosed. 

You will please to make your arrangements to reach Fort Snelling 
by the 25th of August. The first step, after your arrival there, will 
be to fix the time and place at which you will enter upon the business 
of your commission, and the length of the notice proper to be given 
to tlie Indians and the claimants; and, upon these points, I recom- 
mend that you consult the Indian agent, Major Taliaferro. The time 
should be fixed with reference to the payment of the annuities, in 
order to avoid the expense of two councils ; and the place should be 
within tlie Indian country, that the intercourse law of 1834 (a copy 
of which you will find with the agent) may be enforced, in preventing 
the introduction and sale of ardent spirits, and in removing improper 
persons, if any should obtrude themselves. 

The agent will take the necessary measures to convene the Indians, 
and to subsist them while together. 

In the 2d clause of the 2(1 article of the treaty, the United States 
stipulate to pay SI 00, 000 to the relatives of the parties having an 
interest in the land ceded, and who were represented by the chiefs 
and braves who signed the treaty. The first inquiry will therefore 
be, who are these parlies P and, in determiaing this question, you will 



Doc. No. 229. 5 

have regard to the information you may receive from the agent, the 
chiefs, and other persons worthy of confidence, ^vho, from their long 
residence -in the country, have had means of forming opinions on the 
subject. Tlie next step will be to obtain an accurate list of all the 
relatives of these parties, who have not less than one quarter of Sioux 
blood. You will receive the applications of all who may deeui them- 
selves entitled; and, to satisfy yourselves of their riglit to be admit- 
ted, it will be necessary to have recourse to the statements of the 
chiefs. These should be made publicly, and, if not controverted 
or disproved, they will be considered conclusive. The list should 
show the name, sex, and age, of each individual, the degree oT his 
relationship to the Indians, and the amount awarded to him. It should 
also show your action in each case, and tlie reasons for your various 
decisions. When completed, you will submit it to the chiefs assem- 
bled in council, fortheir assent to it, which you will procure in writing, 
having their signatures duly witnessed. You will cause one copy of 
it to be transmitted to this office, and another to be deposited with 
Governor Dodge, the superintendent of Indian affairs in Wisconsin, 
or with the Indian agent. A third copy will be delivered by you to 
the person having charge of the money appropriated, with instructions 
to pay each person the amount allowed, and to take his receipt on the 
list, which will be his voucher. In determining the amount which 
each claimant shall receive, your attention will be directed to the 
following considerations : the degree of relationship, and the value 
and extent of services or supplies rendered to the Indians, or the 
capacity, disposition, and intention, to render them in future, as these 
constitute the entire foundation for this provision in the treaty. Rela- 
tives who reside among the Indians will be entitled, of course, to 
some portion of this fund ; how large will depend on the result of your 
inquiries; in the case of non-residents, the most ample proof on the 
points indicated should be required. There will no doubt he a num- 
ber q/" MINORS, q/" ORPHANS, and of persons incompetent to make 
a right disposition of the sums allowed them. Whenever husband 
and wife are living together, and their children are living with 
them, or wherever the children are living with one of their 
parents, and you become satisfied that such parents, or either of 
them, are competent to take care of their children, you will direct 
the portions of the latter to be paid to such parent. In the cases of 
children who are orphans^ or have been deserted by their parents, you 
are authorized to place their respective shares in the hands of some 
TRUST-WORTHY pcrson, who ivill apply it faithfully for their benefit . 
In the selection of this person you will consult the wishes of the chiefs ; 
but they will not necessarily determine your action. The same course 
may be taken in the case of Indians you may deem incompetent to 
manage their affairs properly. All other persons of full age will re- 
ceive their respective shares. In all cases, where you may deem it 
advisable, you can cause witnesses to be summoned, sworn, and ex- 
amined before you ; and the testimony thus procured should be trans- 
mitted to this office. 

The 3d clause of the 2d article of the treaty provides ihat the sum 
of 890,000 shall be applied to the payment of jusi debts of the Sioux 
Indians interested in tne land ceded. This stipulation will not be so 



6 Doc. No. 229. 

construed as to extend it to any debts created since the date of the 
treaty. 

Havin"- ascertained, in the manner heretofore pointed out, who are 
the parties interested, you will call upon all persons holding claims 
aj^ainst them to present them. You will require the respective cre- 
ditors to deposite with you transcripts of their claims, exhibiting 
names, dates, articles, prices, and the original consideration of each 
claim. If notes or obligations, purporting to be signed by any of the 
Indians, shall be presented to you for allowance, you will inquire into 
the original consideration, and the circumstances under which they 
niav have been signed. No such note or obligation will be received a3 
evidence of a debt, unless the indebtedness shall be satisfactorily 
shown. If original books or entries cannot be produced, their loss 
or destruction must be proved. The sale of spirituous liquors to Indians 
being prohibited by tlie laws of the United States, no item of charge 
on that account will, under any circumstances, be allowed. You will 
prepare a roll of all the claimants, specifying tha amount claimed by 
each, the places of residence or trade, the time when the debt was 
incurred, the kind of merchandise or other articles, the amount ad- 
mitted by you to be justly due, and the amount rejected. 

You will carefully record all the evidence m each case, and trans- 
mit it, with the affidavits themselves, if in that form, with the roll of 
claimants, and, with statements of the grounds of your decisions, to this 
office. The accompanying printed copy of a report on similar claims, 
against tlie Pottawatamies, will give you a clear idea of the manner in 
winch your own should be prepared. 

Voi'.r examination cannot be too scrutinizing into the merits and 
justice of every claim. If it be against an individual Indian, he should 
be called before you, and each item in the account should be explained 
to Itim, and his assent or dissent to it required. If it be against the 
parties ceding the land collectively, or against either of the bands 
among them, as a band, the account should be explained in like 
manner, and their acknowledgment or denial taken. To this extent, 
I have no doubt, Indian testimony should be received ; the weight it 
should have you must determine, after considering the character, 
general intelligence, and means of informatioii, of the witness. The 
moral duly of paying every just claim shoidd be pressed upon the In- 
dians ; and, in receiving their statements, you will bear in mind the 
danger arising on the one hand from a disposition to evade an obliga- 
tion; and, on Ihe other, from the exemAco/IiVl PROPER INFLUENCE 
by any of the claimants. Tlie creditors will be required to swear to 
their accounts, and the testimony of disinterested persons will also be 
taken in regard to the justness of the prices charged. If the aggregate 
of claims admitted by you shall exceed the sum provided in the treaty, 
you will rejxtrt tlie amount due to each claimant, after a pro rata 
distribution ; and this he will be required to take, in full of all demands 
against these Indians up to the date of tlie treaty. Your decisions 
will be final. The assent of the Indians to your report you will pro- 
cure in writing. 

The sum appropriated for the half-breeds will be sent, in due 
season, to MAJOR E. A. HITCHCOCK, atSt. Louis, who will make 
the necessary arrangements for its disbursement, under your direction. 



Doc. No. 229. 7 

The sum appropriated for the payment of debts will be retained here. 
You will give each claimant a certificate of the amount allowed him j 
and, upon his draft on this office, appended to this certificate, the 
payment will be made in New York. I enclose forms of certificate and 
draft. The sum of S500 for contingent expenses, such as stationeiy, 
&.C., has been remitted to Captain Hitchcock, who will provide for 
its disbursement, on your requisition. 

You are each authorized, if you desire to do so, to draw on this office, 
from time to time, bills of exchange for such sums as may be due to you 
on account of mileage or services. These bills must be accompanied 
by accounts, showing, in detail, dates, distances, terms of service, &c., 
and attested by your certificate. A similar authority has been given 
to your secretary, whose accounts, however, must be certified by one 
or both of you. 

Mr. T. P. Spierin has been appointed secretary to your board, and 
instructed to report to you, and perform such duties as you may 
prescribe. 

"Very, &c. 

C. A. HARRIS. 

L. T. Pease, Esq., hartford, Connecticut^ and 

W. L. D. EwiNG, Esq., Vandalia, Illinois. 



Office Military Disbursino Agent, Ind. Dept., 
St. Louis, November 6, 1838. 

I have been compelled, from a sense of duty, to suspend payment of 
the Winnebago half-breed money until I can receive your instructions. 

I was directed to pay the half-breeds, on the ^^requisitions of the com- 
missioners.''^ The usage of the Department, under similar instruc- 
tions, as understood by me, has been for the persons authorized to make 
requisitions to require the payment to be made to the proper claimant. 
(From No. 1, Rev'd Reg's No. 3.) It the claimant is a white man, 
and disposes of his claim, it is his business, and his right so to do is 
not disputed. In the case of the Indians the rule is different, the 31st 
par. Rev'd Reg's No^ 3 being explicit on this point. 

Half-breeds are neither white men nor Indians, as expressed in their 
name ; and the proper treatment of them is neither defined in the re- 
gulations, nor, perhaps, established by usage. If it is said they are not 
Indians, and must therefore be treated as white men, it may more 
plausible be said they are not white men, and ought therefore to be 
treated as Indians, as they unquestionably have been in almost all trea- 
ties containing stipulations in their favour. (Art. 1st, treaty 4th 
August, 1824, Sacs and Foxes; ai'ts. 6 and 11, treaty June 3d, 1825, 
Kansas ; arts. 3 and 6, treaty October 6, 1818, Miamies ; art. Sd, treaty 
23d October, 1326 ; art. 4th, treaty December 29, 1835 ; art. 2d, treaty 
August 29, 1821, Ottawas, Chippewas, &c., last part of the art.; art. 
2d, treaty February 18, 1833, Ottawas, &c.; and especiallj the spirit 
of the 6th article, treaty 28th March, 1836, Ottawas and Chippewas.) 

It is against all knowledge (although there may be exceptions) to 
suppose the half-breeds are acquainted loith the nature of powers of at- 



8 Doc. No. 229. 

torney and bills of exchange; and to diccuss a question concerning 
them, upon a presumption of their moral responsibility to ourlaw&and 
usages, is, to my mind, an absurdity. 

Premising thus much, I have to stale that the fund for the payment 
of the Winnebago half-breeds was not received by me until the 9tk 
ultimo. I availed myself of the first boat and first opportunity, (which 
occured on the 16th,) and sent it from this city to Prairie du Chien, to 
be paid to the persons whom the commissioners might designate as the 
proper claimants. 

But the commissioners had decided to require payment, not to the 
individual claimants^ but, almost exclusively, to third persons, and 
principally to a moneyed man, who travelled from Philadelphia with a 
large amount of Philadelphia bank notes, (doubtless for some lawful 
purpose,) upon his procuring powers of attorney. I do not wish to 
question the motives of this moneyed man in following the commissio- 
ners to Prairie du Chien with his bank notes; but I cannot sufficiently 
express my regret that the late date at which the half-breed money was 
remitted has given him the opportunity of purchasing, ivith his rags, 
the claims of A MISERABLE BODY of IGNORANT half-breeds, 
totally unacquainted with the nature of the business in which he was 
engaged. 

Another class of persons in whose favor the commissioners have re- 
quired payments are called guardians and trustees, not one of 
WHOM has been required to give hand for the faithful disposition of the 
money. 

To pay these people without requiring bonds will scarcely be even 
a FORM OF PAYMENT; and to suppose that ten per cent of the 
money, if thus paid, can ever benefit the proper claimants, is to defy 
all experience. 

The commissioners, who are now in town, observe, on this point, 
that they had no instructions to require bonds, and that, therefore, their 
doing so "would not be legal j" but I do not see the sequence. 

One among these selected trustees was arrested for debt in this city 
last spring ; another, I have been credibly informed, dared not come 
here, on account of his debts ; and a third is a most notorious gambler. 
Two of these, I venture to say, could not borrow a thousand dollars 
to save them from the county jail. 

It is from no disposition to retain the money in my hands that I 
suspend this payment. 1 had already sent it to Prairie du Chien ; 
and my sending to the Sioux half-breeds their hundred and ten thou- 
sand dollars, witliout instructions, as reported by my letter of the 9th 
September, will sliow my readiness to disburse the public money when 
I am satisfied with the occasion; but thewell-knoivnand^^ORMOV^ 
frauds upon half-breeds of other tribes impose upon me a duty in this 
case ; and I cannot pay this money to the Winnebago half-breed 
claimants without instructions, based upon a knowledge of the circum- 
stances (doubtless unexpected to the Department^ growing out of the 
fact that the money was not at Prairie du Chien until the commissio- 
ners had closed tlieir labors. 

I enclose, herewith, a list of claimants, as ascertained by the com- 
missioners, with their requisition attached to it, which I request may 



Doc. No. 229. , » 

be returned to me. I also send copies of vndivuiual orders or drafts, 
'vliich will explain the manner of requiring p.-xyment. 

I cannot closo this letter, long as it is, without observinj; that the 
Department thought proper to indicate a distinction between the claims 
of white persons and those of half-breeds, by paying the former in 
Washington, while the money was sent for the latter. It appears to 
me the distinction thus drawn was not without meaning, extending, 
as it did, to all the tribes on the upper Mississippi. 

Since writing the foregoing, I have seen and conversed with the 
commissioners. They urge that they were expected to distribute the 
money, and that THEY only are RESPONSIBLE. I answered, that 
their instructions were given under the presumption that the money 
would be on the spot, to be distributed by them to the proper clai- 
mants ; that the money not being there presented, a contingency not 
anticipated ; and that, in point of fact, their duties could not be execu- 
ted, and should have determined ovl the knowledge of that contingency. 

I have also seen some of the claimants, one of whom has held out a 
threat of protest ; but this was merely done to test the strength of my 
determination. 

I hope, in considering this matter, you will do me the justice to 
bear in mind that I have already shown my willingness to pay the 
money, by sending it to Prairie du Chien. 

I have remarked to the claimants, that I presumed the drafts would 
ultimately be paid, but that, in my belief, they were given under cir- 
cumstances not contemplated in the instructions of the commisslonerg, 
and that the circumstances were of a character that required a higher 
sanction for the payment than my own, and, in short, that the De- 
partment could bear better than myself the RESPONSIBILITY of 
payment. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

E. A. HITCHCOCK, Major, 31. D. Agent. 

P. S. The importance of the list of claimants referred to has induced 
me to retain it until I can prepare a copy, which I will transmit to- 
morrow. 

E. A. H. 
T. Hartley Crawford, Esq., 

Commissioner of Indian Jiffairs. 



No. 10.— S2,800. Prairie do Chien, Wis. Trr., 

October 25, 1838. 

Pay to I). M. Brodhead, Esq., or order, two thousand eight hundred 
dollars, being the amount awarded to James, otherwise called Jacques 
L'Ecuyer, inhisown right, as a half-blood Winnebago, and in right of 
David Twiggs, his adopted son, of quarter Winnebago blood, out of 
the fund provided for the relatives of the said Winnebago Indians of 
not less than one quarter blood, under the treaty of November 1, 1837 ? 
and for which sum a receipt has been signed, on the list of said rela- 
tives with which you have been furnished ; the said D. M. Brodhead 

2 



10 Doc. No. 229. 

being the duly constituted attorney in fact of the said James or 
Jacques L'Ecuyer, as per letters of attorney filed with us. 

SIMON CAMERON, ? r, o /^ ? 
J. MURRAY, I ^' ^- ^''"^*- 

To Major E. A. Hitchcock, 

United States Disbursing jJgent, St. Louis. 

Endorsement on the above. 

Pay to N. Boilvin, or order. 

D. M. BRODHEAD. 
N. BOILVIN. 



No. 27. — S2,400. Prairie du Chien, Wis. Ter., 

October 25, 1838. 

Pay to Hercules L. Dousman, or order, twenty-four hundred dollars, 
which is ihe amount awarded to the said Hercules L. Dousman, as the 
trustee of Antoine Grignon, Hypolite Grignon, and Archange Grignon, 
(minors,) quarter-blood VVinnebagoes, out of the fund provided for the 
relatives of the said Winnebago Indians of not less than one quarter 
blood, under the treaty of November 1, 1837; and for which sum a 
receipt has been signed on the list of said relations, with which you 
have been furnished. 

SIMON CAMERON, ? ,. „ ^ , 
J. MURRAY, I ^' ^' ^^'^ '•^- 

To Major E. A. Hitchcock, 

United Staffs Disbursing Agent, St. Louis. 

Endorsement on the above. 

Pay to Pratte, Chouteau, & Co., or order. 

H. L. DOUSMAN, Trustee. 
PRATTE, CHOUTEAU, & Co. 



No. 29.— S900. Prairie Bu Chien, Wis. Ter., 

October 25, 1838, 

Pay to Ellon St Cyr, or order, nine hundred dollars, wliich is the 
amount iiuardi-d to tiic said Ellon St. Cyr, in her own right, as a half- 
blood Winnebago, out of the fund provided for the relations of the 
said \Vinnet>a<ro Indians of not less than one quarter blood, under the 
treaty of November 1, 1837; and for which sum a receipt has been 
si-rned on the list of said relatives, with which you have been 
furnished. 

SIMON CAMERON, } rr c ^ , 
.1. MURRAY, ^ US Comers. 

To Major E. A. Hrrciicocii, 

Utiiltd Stales Disbursing Agent, St. Jjouis. 



Doc. No. 229. 11 

Endorsement on the above. 

Pay the within to N. Boilvin, or his order. 

ELLEN St. CYR, her x mark. 

Witness present : IL L. Dousman, 

Pay to Pratte, Chouteau &, Co., or order. 

N. BOILVIN, 

PRATTE, CHOUTEAU & Co. 



Office Military Disbursing Agent, Ind. Dept., 

St. Louis, Novembet' 8, 1838. 

Sir : It was not my intention, as certainly it was not my wish, to 
occupy your time with another communication on the subject of the 
Winebago half-breed money; but as new circumstances come to my 
knowledge, I must write, to do justice to the subject^ to myself, and to 
others. 

I have crossed the purposes of a BAND OF GREEDY SPECULA- 
TORS, and brought upon myself the maledictions of many who will 
pretend an infinite degree of sympathy for the very half-breeds whom 
they have CHEATED and almost ROBBED, by what will boldly be 
put forth as a legal proceeding. Be the consequences what they may, 
1 rejoice that I have, for a few weeks at least, suspended the execu- 
tion of this business. 

I have now to inform you that I know an instance where a man, 
se/ec^erf iy //le COMMISSIONERS as a ^ '•trustee,''^ received, in that 
capacity, an order for SLSOO, ivho has, in this city, offered it in pay- 
ment of a note of his own, due last summer, and which note was dis- 
honored and paid by his endorser, and the amount suffered to remain 
a debt due the endorser to this day. Can this man be worthy of the 
trust reposed in him ? And is it possible that instructions could have 
contemplated the payment of money in trust to such persons, without 
taking a bond for its faithful appropriation ? 

I am informed, and have not the slightest doubt of the fact, that 
every possible exertion yv^s made to DECEIVE the halt-breeds into 
the belief that the Government ivas ivithout money ; was not disposed 
to pay the half-breeds ; and that, if they permitted the opportunity of 
selling tlieir claims to pass, they would never receive any thing ; and 
that one claim o/" 81,800 was actually thus sold for S400. Can such 
a transaction pass in review without condemnation, because it may 
wear the color of law ? It is monstrous ; and, if lawful, the law is a 
scourge to the innocent. 

It will be urged upon you, that actual claimants have been refused 
money in their own proper persons, and subjected to great losses. 
I am not so blind as not to see the use intended to be made of a farce 
enacted in my office, xvhen an artful "^attorney infacf^ and ^Hrustee'*' 
brought into my presence a half-breed named Oliva, one of five only 
who received requisitions in their own names, for the purpose of 



12 Doc. No. 229. 

making a case upon which to complain of hardship. I request you t<J 
examine the list of claimants, as shown on the copy forwarded, and I 
you will see but live of the whole body have had the wit and stren^hi 
to withstand the influences brought to bear by the CUPIDITY of\ 
white men, and received certificates in their own name. Oliva, one 
of the five referred to, will not suffer ; the wit that secured him atl 
Prairie du Chien will not abandon him here ; and he is the only one 
I have heard of as having come here except by attorney in fact or by 
"trustee." 

It is in vain to attempt ^o SMOTHER the GROSSNESS of this pro- 
ceeding. Why were not the certificates of claim simply recorded ini 
favor of the original and proper claimants, if the commission must( 
needs go through the form of payment.^ Was it because such certi- 
ficates were not drafts i Was it because the "attorneys in fiict" 
could not press tlieir claims under purchase with half the show of 
right they now pretend ? 

I beg of you to examine attentively the list of claimants forwarded! 
yesterday. You will see the names of but five original claimants re- 
ported as having received orders on me. This was known to the 
commissioners, who, when I suggested the propriety of making pay- 
ment at Prairie du Chien, immediately informed me that claims for 
nearly the whole amount were already in this city. I grieve to say 
it, but the impulse is irresistible, and I must express my apprehen- 
sion that the form of payment luas acquiesced in for the security ofthei 
purchaser, and not for the benefit of the claimant ; and that in this£ 
proceeding the commissioners yielded their duty of guardianship ofthei 
half-breeds to a seeming compliance with the forms of law, /or the pro^ 
tection of '■'•attorneys in fact.-'' 

There has been great eloquence wasted in an argument to prove that 
the proper claimants are scattered, and beyond the reach of the paying 
agents of the Indian department ; but this is cdl a tvaste of ivords. If 
they live with Indians, they can be found with them. If with white 
men, their blood will distinguish and publish them ; and I, for one, 
as a disbursing agent, do not thank the commissioners for an attempt 
to save me from the performance of a duty appertaining to my situation. 
If '■^attorneys in fact'"' can find the claimants, so can the officers of the. 
Indian department. If it be said that they have paid the claimants- 
already, and are not expected to find them, the assertion truly charac- 
terizes the whole proceeding, and shows in what manner these "attor- 
neys in fact*' became invested with the confidential trust they have 
filed with the CoMMissioxEus. 

The powers of attorney u' ere purchased, and/or the most part by an 
utter stranger, a man entirely unknown to the half-breeds, and having, 
not the shadow of claim upon their confidence but through the contents- 
of his purse. The commissioners inform me that they have no know- 
ledge of tlie sale of claims ; yet THEY informed me that the claims 
were nearly all here. In the first assertion they must speak in a tech- 
■nical sense, and can only moan that the powers of attorney do not 
show the sale ; wliile, in tlie second, they know, in another sense, all 
about the claims — where they are and HOW they were procured. 
1 do not wish to be disrespectful to the commissioners j bict I must 
Ihink they were not .lelected at a great distance from the scene of their 



Doc. No. 229. 1^ 

itdfies, at ^5 per day, at Congress travelling; days, and their expenses 
all paid besides, to act ivith TWO SPECIES of knowledge, and shield 
themselves from a HIGH MORAL RESPONSIBILITY by keeping 
the law on their side. 

I was officially informed that their sittings were to have been held 
in the Indian country, where all the expenses were to be paid by the 
Government, in order to secure justice to the claimants; and drafts 
on the Government, for UPWARDS OF $5'000' ^^'^ "^^^ i" "mo- 
tion, besides the perdiem due tlie COMMISSIONERS on account of 
the expenses incurred by their commission; and yet, by a seeming 
fatality, the half-breeds have been CHEATt^D and abused under 
THEIR EYES, and they "DON'T KNOW IT." 

I recommend that payment be ordered to the original claimants ; 
jthat the list reported by the commissioners be regarded only as a 
' schedule like that embraced on page 588 of the book of "Treaties to 
\ 1837," except that "trustees" be paid on giving proper bonds ; and 
1 the half-breeds can then refund the amount advanced to them by 
, "attorneys in fact." 
' Very respectfully, 

A.' E. HITCHCOCK, 

Major, 31. D. Agent. 
T. Hartley Crawford, Esq., 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 

P. S. I have just been informed that the claimants at Prairie du 
Chien, on hearing that the money for them had actually been sent to 
the Prairie, contrary to assurances given them, sent to this place a 
protest against the proceedings of the commissioners, to stay the money 
in my hands ; and it has been intimated, from a respectable source, 
that THE AGENT HAS BEEN BOUGHT to silence. 

Time may disclose something on this subject important to the honor 
of the Government. 



Office Disbursing Agent, Ind. Dept., 

St. Louis, December 2,, 1338. 

Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
the 2lst ult, directing that no payments be made from tiie funds for 
Winnebago half-breeds without further instructions, and requesting 
me to communicate any further information I may have on the subject 
of the mode of payment directed by the late commissioners at Prairie 
du Chien. 

Since my reports upon this subject, there has not been time to 
communicate with any one at Prairie du Chien ; but I have a letter 
from General Street, dated at that place, November 1st, after the 
commissioners had left there, and before he could have heard of my 
proceeding. General Street says, in reference to the Winnebago 
commissioners, "the course pursued by the commissioners here has 
been very different from that of Mr. Fleming at Rock island From 



14 Doc. No. 229. 

the statements of correct persons here, the MOST SHAMEFUL 
BRIBING and FAVORITISM HAVE BEEN PRACTISED." 

In a matter of so much importance, involving the reputation of 
gentlemen honored with the commission of the Government for the 
execution of a high trust, and affecting the interest of many indivi- 
duals who have confided in the integrity of the Government agents, 
it is of the utmost consequence that nothing should be received as 
decisive, to the prejudice of such interests, without the fullest as- 
surance of necessity. 

I mention this consideration to show that I am aware of the respon- 
sibility under which I express my satisfaction with the order of the 
?lst ult., and recommend that it be continued until definite reports 
can be received from the parties interested at and in the neighborhood 
of Prairie du Chien. There is, however, one claimant living in this 
city, to whom I had sent the order of the 20th, with a notice of my 
readiness to pay him in his own proper person. Should he make his 
appearance, good faith will require me to make the payment. This 
I presume may be done without injustice to any one. Those who 
received drafts in their own right might also be paid the amounts 
awarded to them ; for they cannot be entitled to less, though it is 
possible they should receive more. 

I have the means, and shall employ them, of procuring accurate 
information from Prairie du Chien j and the results will be reported 
without delay. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

E. A. HITCHCOCK, 

Alajovy Ax. D, dgent. 
T. Hartley Crawford, Esq., 

Commissioner of Indian ^Sffairs, 



Office Disbursixg Agent, Indian Department, 

St. Louis, December 5, 1838 

Sir: The REV. MR. LOWREY, the superintendent of the Win- 
nebago school and farm, under the treaty of 1832, being in this city, 
has furnished the enclosed letter in reference to the conduct of the 
commissioners at Prairie du Chien, having duties under the treaty of 

i8sr. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

E. A. HITCHCOCK 

M. D. Agmt. 
T. Hartley Crawford, Esq., 

Commissioner of Indian .^J/airs . 



St. Louis, December 5, 1838. 

Dear Sir : Your letter of yesterday, on the subject of the late pur- 
chase of the claims held by the half-breeds of the Winnebagoes, is 



Doc. No. 229. 1 5 

now before me. In reply, I beg leave to say that, during the investi- 
gation of the commissioners in reference to this matter, I was con- 
fined at home by sickness, so that I had no opportunity of witnessing, 
in person, any facts in reference to the purchase of the claims in 
question ; but, so far as public rumor can be relied on, I have no 
hesitation in saying i\\?it those half-breeds were shamefully CHEATED 
out of their RIGHTS ; and I believe this is tlic general impression of 
the disinterested part of the community at Prairie du Chien. Not 
having inquired into the true origin of the reports wliich have come 
to my knowledge in this aft'air, I decline giving any facts at present, 
but will, on my return home, render special attention to the subject, 
when you shall hear from me again. 

Great dissatisfaction prevailed among tlie half-breeds ; and I have 
no doubt but they will be much pleased with the suspension of pay- 
ment which has taken place. 

Yours, with high regard, 

D. LOWRY, 
Superintendent Win, School and Farm, 

Major Hitchcock. 



War Department, 
OJ^ce Indian Jlffuirs, January 28, 1839. 

Sir: By the treaty of 1st November, 1837, (ratified June 15, 
1838,) a fund was provided for the payment of the debts of the Win- 
nebagoes, "which may be ascertained to be justly due, and which may 
be admitted by the Indians." 

To carry out this provision, and to ascertain the just debts due by 
those Indians, James Murray, Esq., of Maryland, and Simon Cam- 
eron, Esq., of Pennsylvania, were appointed commissioners. The 
instructions, dated the 26th day of July, 1838, by which they were 
to be governed in making their examinations, directed them to 
"require the respective creditors to deposite with you transcripts of 
their claims, exhibiting names, dates, articles, prices, and the origi- 
nal consideration of each claim. If notes or obligations, purporting 
to be signed by any of the Indians, shall be presented to you for 
allowance, you will inquire into the original consideration, and the 
circumstances under which they may have been signed. No such note 
or obligation will be received as evidence of a debt, unless the indeb- 
tedness shall be satisfactorily sliown. If original books or entries 
cannot be produced tlieir loss or destruction must be proved ;" and 
enjoined upon them to "prepare a roll of all the claimants, specify- 
ing the amount claimed by each, tlie places of residence or trade, the 
time when the debt was incured, tlie kind of merchandise or other 
articles," &c. In an after part of the instructions, they were informed 
that "your examinations cannot be too scrutinizing into tlie merits 
and justice of every claim. If it be against an individual Indian, he 
should be called before you, and each item in the account should be 
explainetl to him, and his assent or dissent to it required. If it be 
against the parties ceding the land, collectively, or against either of 



16 Doc. No. 229. 

the bands among them, as a band, the account shoud be explained in 
like manner, and their acknowledgment or denial taken." And else- 
where in the instructions it is said, "jour decisions will be final. 
The assent of the Indians to your report you will procure in writing." 

"The sum appropriated for the payment of debts will be retained 
here. You will give each claimant a certificate of the amount allo- 
wed him ; and, upon his draft on this office, appended to this certi- 
ficate, the payment will be made in New York." 

Under these instructions, the commissioners repaired to the Indian 
country, and, on the 15th December last, filed a written report of the 
manner in which they had discharged their duties ; and afterwards, 
viz : on 28th December, placed in this office the evidence and other 
papers on which they had made their decisions. They report that 
they soon ascertained "that it was not in the power of the traders, 
in more than one or two cases, to obey that part of the instructions 
requiring the presentation of transcripts from their books, giving 
names, dates, articles, &c., as the proof was abundant and uniform 
that it had not been the habit of the traders to keep books of Indian, 
credits ; and there were but few cases in which books or memoran- 
dums had been kept at all ; and in all but cases these books 

or memorandums had been destroyed or lost," because, they say, if 
the Indian hunts of one or two years did not pay their debts, they 
were regarded as desperate. We are further informed that, "after 
proof that rough books or memorandums of credits had, in some few 
instances, been kept, and afterwards lost, the parties were not only 
unable to file transcripts, exhibiting names, dates, &c., but could not 
furnish, from proof or recollection, the articles sold, their prices, or 
the parties who purchased.'' They found that a note had been given 
only in one case, and had no proof that sales had been made to the 
nation at large, or to particular bands thereof. Under these circum- 
stances, the commissioners determined to receive proof of the capital 
employed, of the sales, and the proportion of them made on credit, 
not in particular cases, (with a very few exceptions,) but according to 
the general course of Indian trade, and satisfied themselves "that 
about one half the sales were generally made on credit, of which from 
one half to one third were never received." It appears that the cre- 
ditors of the Winnebagoes held a meeting and passed resolutions, 
which were informally submitted to the commissioners, and, without 
receiving their official sanction,they say, "shed lights upon the subject, 
which were found afterwards of essential service in the settlement of 
our business ; and the rules laid down by them were adopted by our " 
board, so far as they corresponded with the evidence taken upon the 
subjects to which tliey referred." It appears that claims were pre- 
sented to an aggregate amount of 8528,219 53, which the commissio- 
ners considered proved to the amount of §160,886 30, and that a 
pro rata distribution of OS'^'ooo cents in the dollar was made, for 
which certificates were issued. 

Can this report be confirmed .? As the instructions say the report 
shall be final, it may be proper to remark that, to make it so, the 
commissioners mu.st appear to have acted within the fair scope of the 
powers confided to them. Tlie Government never could have intended 
to say that they meant to sajiction whatever was done, be it RIGHT 



Doc. No. 229. 17 

©}• WRONG, aulhorizcd or not. Tlie natural and legal construction 
of an exercise of delegated authority is that it sliall be conclusive, if 
confined within the prescribed limits ; in other words, the opinions 
formed or decisions made will not be interfered with, provided the 
rules laid down are observed. In this report of the proceedings of 
the commissioners, there appears in a very large proportion of the 
cases to have been a total departure from their instructions. Trans- 
cripts were not produced j items were not set out ; the articles 
alleged to have been sold not particularized ; and we arc told the 
Indians who bought could not be recollected. In what sense can 
such claims be called debts } The commissioners say the tribe as- 
sumed by the treaty to pay the individual debts, and by the assump- 
tion made them national ; and therefore the agreement in council, 
appended to the report, that it was correct, sanctifies the proceeding. 
I cannot agree to this. The nation agreed to pay individual debts ; 
but surely that does not dispense with establishing them. Unless 
proved, to what can the Indians consent ? It is a mere charge of 
personal responsibilities upon a general fund, leaving the necessity 
of making out tliat responsibility where it was before. I do not say 
that books, though the most usual and the best evidence of indebted- 
ness by account, are indispensable, but some proof is necessary ; and 
in the case of Indians, allowing every tiling for the mode of doing 
business it can be made, or, if it cannot, there is no evidence that 
any thing is due. Other commissioners have found proofs, and no 
difficulty interposed itself that was not overcome. The statement of 

claim IS often : The AVinnebago nation of Indians to , Dr. To 

amount due for losses on goods sold, from — , 1815 to — — — , 

1837, S • And the evidence in support of very many of the 

claims in this report is, that A B dealt with the Winnebogoes for a 
series of years ; that he employed so much capital in each year ; that 
he must have lost largely ; and the witnesses believe that there is due 

him not less than S • The traders had a meeting, and passed 

resolutions, which were submitted to the commissioners, and adopted 
by them so far as they corresponded w'lth the evidence. They were 
the CLAIMANTS, and the persons whose ACCOUNTS were to be 
sifted. The assent obtained, and appended to the report, is signed 
by eight chiefs. The report states that not one national or band 
debt was ov/ing ; and yet the chiefs, loho kneiv nothing of the matter, 
are the consenting parties, instead of the individuals who contracted 
the debts. On this subject the instructions are possitive. This 
assent admits nothing. It seems to be thought there is some support 

given to the claims by the setting apart of dollars in the 

treaty to pay debts — which is regarded as an acknowledgment that the 
"Winnebagoes owed so much. I place no reliance on Indian admis- 
sions on such subjects. They have no idea of large amounts ; but if 
they had, I am at a loss to see how it can aid in establishing particular 
debts. The advantage of the trade is all on the side of the whites ; 
they have the power to keep books, or to secure other evidence ; and 
if they fail the fault is their own. The Indian is only asked to assent 
or dissent, and has no means of opposing a claim, or conlradictitig the 
evidence adduced against him ; and the least, 1 think, that can be 
done for him is, to require a man who seta up a claim to prove it. 

3 



18 Uoc. No. «^9. 

I have examined this report laboriously, and reflected upon it 
seriously and anxiously, with a desire, if possible, to advise its 
confirmation, for the certificates that were given by the commissio- 
ners have passed into and through many hands ; but a sense of duty 
to the Indians and to the Government constrains me to recommend its 
REJECTION, and that the matter be recommitted to a NEW 
COMMISSION, either under the former instructions, or such modi- 
fication of them as you may think advisable. 

A further duty was confided to the commissioners. By the treaty, 
the United States agreed "to pay, under the direction of the Presi- 
dent, to the relations and friends of said Indians, having not less than 
one quarter of Winnebago blood, one hundred thousand dollars.'''' 

They were instructed to receive the applications of all "who may 
deem themselves entitled 5 and, to satisfy yourselves of their right 
to be admitted, it will be necessary to have recourse to the statements 
of the chiefs. These should be made publicly, and, if not contro- 
verted or disproved, they will be considered conclusive. The list 
should show the name, sex, and age, of each individual, the degree 
of his relationship to the Indians, and the amount awarded to him ; 
it should also show your action in each case, and the reasons for your 
various decisions. When completed, you will submit it to the chiefs 
assembled in council, for their assent to it, which you will procure 
in writing, having their signatures duly witnessed. You will cause 
one copy of it to be transmitted to this office, and another to be de- 
posited with Governor Dodge, the superintendent of Indian aftairs in 
Wisconsin, or with the Indian agent. A third copy will be delivered 
by you to the person having charge of the money appropriated, with 
instructions to pay each person the amount allowed, and to take his 
receipt on the list, which will be his voucher." It was anticipated 
there would be minors, orphans, and persons incapable of using 
discretely the sums allowed them. As to persons of this character, 
the commissioners where directed that, "whenever husband and wife 
are living t(»gether, and their children are living with them, or M'hen- 
ever the children are living with one of their parents, and you be- 
come satisfied that such parents, or either of them, are competent to 
take care of their children, you will direct the portions of the latter 
to be paid to such parent. In the cases of children who are orphans, 
or have been deserted by their parents, you are authorized to place 
their respective shares in the hands of some trustworthy person, wlio 
will apply it faithfully for their benefit. In the selection of this per- 
son you will consult the wishes of the chiefs ; but they will not 
necessarily determine your action. The same course may be taken 
in tlie cases of Indians you may deem incompetent to manage their 
affairs properly. All other persons of full age will receive their 
respective shares." They were also informed that "the sum appro- 
priated for the lialf-breeds will be sent, in due season, to Major E. A. 
Hitchcock, at St. Louis, wlio will make the necessary arrangements 
for its disbursement, under your direction.'' 

As to the persons entitled under this clause of the treaty, and the 
steps pursued by the comnussioners to ascertain them, as developed 
in their report, I perceive no ground of exception. But there is a 
vital particular in which, in my judgment, the instructions are not 



Doc. No. 229. 19 

only violated, but which, if this branch of the report could be sanc- 
tioned, would divert the $ lOO^OOO pom the quarter-blood 
fVinnebagoes, and put it in the pockets o/" WHITE MRN. The instruc- 
tions point plainly to the payment of the money to the Indians ; and 
if they did not, it seems to me the appearance by attorney in fact, 
and the grantinj^ of certificates to those representatives, opened so 
wide an entrance to FRAUD that I cannot repress the expression of 
my SURPRISE that such a course should have been deemed proper. 
The money was to be paid to the respective persons entitled to 
IT, except in the instances of minors, orphans, and incompetents. The 
execution of the treaty, in either its spirit or letter, forbade any other 
procedure ; and yet, out of ninety-two Indians of mixed blood, the 
report shows that only THIRTEEN received certificates for their 
own money, either by themselves or parents ; of the remaining 
s event y-7iine, certificates were granted on sixty-claims to attorneys in 
fact, and 0)ily nineteen to trustees. Where was the necessity for 
these attorneys ? ^re they not assignees of these claims? I have no 
DOUBT OF IT. A large proportion of the letters of attorney appear to 
have been granted by the father for his minor children, in many 
instances three or four years old. This he had no legal power to do j 
his authority extended only to tiie receipt of the money under the 
directions of the department. The authority he could not delegate. 
The whole proceeding was /or this reason void. But the persons who 
appeared as attorneys were purchasers from the parent of the money 
and rights of his children, which he could not sell. The Government 
cannot stand by and allow such things to pass. The Indians probably 
received a mere pittance for undoubted rights, previously ascer- 
tainedj about which no agency was necessary nor service required, 
and must not be deprived of the benefit intended them by the treaty. 
The certificates granted in these cases have, in all likelihood, passed 
through various hands, and inconvenience may be experienced in 
consequence by the present holders of them ; but these Indians have 
a right to look to the Government for protection, whose duty it is 
to see that no evill befalls them that can be prevented by vigilance 
and care. Besides, tlie commissioners had no authority to grant these 
certificates ; no such power was given them. The money intended 
to meet the claims was sent, but did not reach its destination seaso- 
nably, and the certificates were resorted to as a substitute. It is not 
required, for the purposes of justice, that the Indians should retain 
what may have been paid them heretofore by their attorneys in fact, 
and receive the whole sum allotted them by the commissioners. 

It will be necessary, if you concur in the first part of this report, 
that A new commission be constituted, to pass upon the debts of 
the Winnebagoes ; and it might be charged with the duty of ascer- 
taining, /ro?n the mixed bloods, how much they had received for their 
claims, and paying them the balance of their respective allotments, 
return to the assignees, respectively, the sums they had paid. 

The trustees appear to have been appointed by the commissioners, 
but I think the money should not be paid in any instance without the 
giving of a bond, with sureties, to be appoved of by the nearest Indian 
agent, or by such other person as may be designated, for the faithful 
discharge of the trust, and the paying over of jhc money, when the 



20 Doc. No. 229. 

person foi" Nvliosc use it is held arrives at twentj-one years of age, or 
sooner, it" ileiuauded by the Government. 

1 have tlie honor to be, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, 

T. HARTLEY CRAWFORD. 
Hon. J. R. Poinsett, 

Secretary of War. 



Endorsement by the Secretary of War. 

Report approved, except in so much as proposes to charge the com- 
missioners with the duty of ascertaining from the mixed bloods how 
much they have received for their claims, and, after paying them the 
balance of their respective allotments, return to the assignees, res- 
pectively, the sums they had paid. The DEPARTMENT WILL 
IN NO manlier recognise those TRANSACTIONS. 



A NEW COMMISSION WILL BE FORTHWITH APPOINTED. 



J. R. P. 



"Washington City, February 4, 1839. 

Sir : I have the honor to enclose, for the information of the De- 
partment, two papers forwarded to me by General J. M. Street, from 
Prairie du Chien, having reference to the proceedings of the commis- 
sioners. General Cameron and Mr. Murray ; one a statement of 
John Bt. Peon, in presence of Jos. M. Street, Indian agent, and D. 
Lowry ; the other a statement, over the signature of J. M. Street, 
reporting his own information, together with information purporting 
to have been furnished by Frederick Oliva, a Winnebago half-breed. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

E. A. HITCHCOCK, 

Major, Military Disbursing Agent. 
Hon. T. Hartley Crawford, 

Commissioner of Indian Jiffairs. 



Statement respecting Mr. Brodhcad's purchasing half and quarter- 
breed claims. 

INFORMATION FROM FREDERICK OLIVA. 

Mr. Peon lias one son and one daughter, named Jean Bt. Peon and 
Angelic Peon. Mr. Peon, the father, sold the claim's of his two 
children to Mr. Brodliead, for g400 for each separate claim, and 



Doc. No. 229. 21 

received certificates of the commissioners for SI, 600 each, which 
(Iiafts were given iti the possession of Mr. liroilhead.* 

En the case of Antoinc Grij^non, wlio sold his claim to Brodhead 
for S800, and received certificates of the commissioners for SI, 600, 
Mr. Grignon received, under the treaty, S2,000. 

In the case of John Roy, who sold his claim for gSOO, to Brodliead, 
he receiving of the commissioners a draft for $1,000, Mr. John Roy 
received, under treaty, $2,000, as shown in the schedule of dona- 
tions. 

Frederick Oliva states that I\Ir. Brodliead and Mr. Boilvin came to 
see him two or three times, on the subject of purchasing his half or 
quarter breed claim, "when he finally told them that he did not 
choose to sell his claim, hut would abide the decision of the commis- 
sioners ; upon which he was solicited by Mr. Biotlhead to manage or 
present his claim to tlie commissioners, for which Mr. B. would charge 
him 10 per cent, assuring claimant that if he did not receive $1,500 
he \vould not charge him any per centage for his trouble ; to which 
claimant consented, and received a draft for $1,500, for which he 
paid Mr. B. $150." 

Joseph M. Street states that a Mr. Campbell, v/ho married Sophia 
Palen, daughter of Joshua Palen, (mention of whom is made at page 
440 of treaty book, in the 5th article of a treaty with the Winne- 
bagoes,) by a half-blood Winnebago woman, the sister of Mrs. Peon, 
came to the residence of said Street, in Prairie du Chien, the 3d of 
November, 1838, and inquired of said Street what the commissioners 
had given his wife, as a part of the $100,000, and when it would be 
paid. Street answered, I have just got home, and know nothing of 
the business done by the commissioners. They left here, I learn, 
yesterday. I brought up the 8100,000 from Major Hitchcock to Dr. 
Reynolds, and the money is now here in the room. Dr. Reynolds is 
at St. Peter's. The money, I presume, will be paid on his return, 
as I have sealed letters fron\ Major H. to him. 

Mr. Dousman then came in, and asked me if I had brought the 
$100,000 for the relations of the Winnebago Indians. I replied I 
had, and made the same statement as to Dr. Reynolds. Mr. D. then 
set to persuade me to take or send the money back to St. Louis. 
I utterly refused to do either, on any consideration ; and remarked 
it would be useless, for the money is to be paid at this place, to the 
half and quarter blood AVinnebagoes, and I do not think it will be 
paid any where else. Mr. D. said the relations had mostly all sold 
their dividends, and the drafts had gone along with the commissio- 
ners, the day before, to St. Louis. I replied, I don't think the 
orders of half and quarter breeds will be paid. The money will only 
be paid to the relations or guardians, who will be required to give 
bonds and security, &c. That I could not understand how the divi- 
dends of minors could be paid to order ; toho can give the order, and 
who ads for them ? Mr. D. answered, all that has been settled by 

* JVotc by General StreeL— This only differs from Peon's statement the 
S300, subsequently paid to P. by B. , as P. states, and which we presume 
Oliva was unapprized of, as it took place after the first agreement. 



22 Doc. No. 229. 

the commissioners, and all we want of you is to get the money to St. 
Louis. 

I then remarked, upon what Mr. Camphell said of classification of 
claims, that they were in three classes — Nos. 1, 2, and 3 — and No. 1 
Avas the largest amount and No. 3 the smallest ; and yet some of 
half-blood were in No. 3, and some of quarter in No. 1. I said the 
Indians declared their intention was, to get the names of all their 
relations of not less than quarter blood, and divide the $100,000 
between them aqually, share and share alike. Mr. D. replied, the 
commissioners acted by the special order of the Secretary of War, 
who directed the classification as it was made. 

I then remarked, I will get rid of this business myself, but I do not 
think the money will be paid to attorneys of half-breeds, I can, with 
an open letter in my possession, hand the money Over to the quarter- 
master, Lieutenant McCissac. 

I went with the letter and money immediately to the fort, and han- 
ded them over to Mr. M. Mr. D. and General Brook came into the 
quartermaster's office while I was paying over the money ; and Ge- 
neral B. remarked to Mr. M. that he would give him an order to go 
to St. Louis, that he might take that money down to meet the drafts 
that had gone. 

I supposed, from his coming in with Mr. D., that he (D.) had got 
the General to give the order, and deemed it not well to say any 
thing 5 so I paid the money and came off. 

Mr. Campbell expressed much dissatisfaction at the amount gran- 
ted him, ($600,) and still more at the charge of half by Mr. Dousman, 
and persisted that he had given no authority to any man to receive it 
for him. How he and Mr. D. ultimately settled it, 1 know not. 
Mr. Campbell returned home, where I can, by inquiring, know more 
of that transaction. 

Tiiat in the case of Mr. Peon, he (Peon) had a claim for goods for- 
merly sold the Winnebagoes, amounting to $700. That by advice of 
Mr. D. and Mr. Boilvin, he employed Mr. Brodhead to advocate his 
claim, as he was assured if he did not employ Mr. B. he could get 
nothing. On the claim he was allowed the full claim of $700. Simi- 
lar remarks were made to several other claimants ; and they were 
assured that if they did not employ B. they would get nothing. That 
these opinions were well known to be circulating by the commissioners, 
I am constrained to believe, from the concurring opinions of so many 
persons. 

A slip of paper was left in the commissioners' quarters, purporting 
to be part of a docket of cases of application as half and quarter breeds; 
and that on said docket every application to which Brodhead is marked 
as counsel for claimant, tlie claim is in the first class, and at the 
highest rate -Allowed. This paper is now here preserved. 

Another lact. Mr. Brodhead said that General Cameron and 
HIMSELF had brought on $40,000 or $60,000 with them. Mr. F., 
the secretary, also said fl>e commissioners did not care whether the 
disbursing agent paid tlieir private draft, for that the commissioners 
had brought on a large amount of money; and the 7noney paid out 
here, was on a bank of which General C' is president. What could 



Doc. No. 229. 23 

all this money be brought here for by the commissioners and ]Mr. 
Brodhead ? 

JOS. M. STREET. 



January 2, 1839. 

Mr. Brodliead first offered me six hundred dollars for the claims ot 
my two ciiildren, stating they xcerc only of quarter blood, and would 
be alloiaed very little. I refused to tuke it ; but said, after being 
repeatedly urged, that I would sell for eight hundred dollars. 

Colonel Brodhead finally agreed to give it. The action of the c07n- 
missioners, however, in reference to my children, entitled them to 
thirty-two hundred dollars. On learning this, I became dissatisfied, 
and went to Mr. Brodliead, informing him what I had been assured, 
when- he agreed to give me three hundred dollars more, making 
eleven hundred ; which my children received, instead of thirty-two 
hundred dollars. 

My son's name is John Baptist, and daughter's Angelique. 

JOHN BT. PEON, his x mark. 

Done in presence of 

Jos. M. Street, Ind. Agent. 
D. Jjowry. 



Washington City, February G, 1839. 

Sir : I have the honor to enclose a letter receivad by me from 
General J. M. Street, United States Indian agent for the Sac and 
Fox Indians, of date the 8t!i of January. 1839, written at Prairie du 
Chien, and having reference to the proceedings of the commissioners 
on adjudicating claims, &.c. under the treaty with the Winnebagoes 
of 1837. 

By the authority conferred in the first or second paragraph of the 
above-described letter, I also enclose extracts from two letters from 
General Street, dated, respectively, ihe 10th of November and 10th 
of December, 1838, referring to the same subject. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

E. A. HITCHCOCK 

Major M. D. Agent, 
Hon. T. Hartley Crawford, 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 



Extract from a letter dated Prairie du Chien, November 10, 1858, 
from General Street to Major Hitchcock, St. Louis. 

You will hereafter learn the course pursued by the commissioners. 
I have no leisure or heart to detail the shameful and CORRUPT 



%4 Doc. No. 229. 

oouusE represented to me, Lyckwood and Dousman, in conjunction 
tvith a Mr. Brodhead, (the latter with iiie commissioners and brag- 
ged that he had made $1*0, ^l>0 out of the claims and half -breeds,) 
decided the cases, and the commissioners only confirmed their acts 
officially. Let any man of common sense and honesty look at the 
treaty, and then phice the half-breeds in classes, if they can ; and 
that, too, has no relation to half or quarter blood, but they are classed 
by favor. A quarter blood is in the first class, and a half in the 
THIRD CLASS. If the case was represented by Mr. Brodhead, or Mr. 
Dousman, or Lockward, strongly, it wa.s in the first or second class ; 
if not advocated by either of these potent characters, the case went in 
the third class. On expressing my surprise at any classification under 
the language of the treaty, Mr. Dousman replied that specicd instruc- 
tions tvere given to the commissioners to make the classi^cation. 

You will, no doubt, hear from other sources of the conduct of the 
commissioners as represented to me. Not one cent ought to be paid 
tipon such decisions. Had the commissioner under the Sac and Fox 
treaty been guilty of such conduct, I am confident he would not have 
been permitted to proceed. I had some idea of their conduct from 
claims sent against the Sacs and Foxes, and promptly rejected . 



Extract of a letter from General Street to Major Hitchcock^ dated 
Prairie du Chien, December 10, ] 8S8. 

To take the statements made by most of the respectable persons 
here, whether claimants or not, and without regard to their success, 
you v.ould with me conclude that they (the commissioners) were 
actuated by tlie most corrupt motives. 

A lawyer, named ]5rodhead, came along with the commissioners, and 
it was soon noised about that it would greatly advance the interest of 
claimants if Mr. Rrodhead was employed to present them ; and also 
in relation to half and (juarter breeds, that it would determine the 
amount to be given to a half or quarter breed, if they employed 
Mr. B. 

In the first case of claims, the claim, if presented through Mr. 
Brodhead, was established with little proof or trouble j and if the 
claimant declined employiiii; Mr. ]j. , but determined to rest his claim 
upon its real intrinsic merits, he was sure to lose the whole or a 
greater part of what he claimed. 

In the case of the half and quarter breeds, mucli more depended on 
the employment of Mr. !>. ; yet a man of plain common sense and 
common Imncsty would declare that there was no need of a lawyer; for 
it must alone depend, under the treaty, upon one simple fact — whether 
tliey were related to the Winnebagoes as near as half and quarter 
blood f if they were, they were entitled to a share ; if not, they ought 
to 1)0 wholly excluded. Tho only question that could arise under the 
treaty was between the amounts to be granted to half and quarter 
breeds : whether half-breeds should draw the same as quarter-breeds, 



Doc. No. 229. 25 

or if half-breeds would not be entitled lo full shares, and quarter- 
breeds to half shares. But no one, from reading the treaty, will say 
that the commissioners, or the Indians who made the treaty, intended 
any thing but tlie eqxicil division amon^^st all their relations not further 
ofi' than (piarter-blood, of 8100,000, share and share alike. Tiie idea 
of any classification of the relations was never thought of by tlie In- 
dians ; and a classification which has grown out of this measure, 
giving to a quarter-blood a full siiare, and to a half-blood less than 
half the amount given to the quarter, is monstrous; and to the In- 
dians, and especially those who made the treat}, unsatisfactory. 
True, in some cases, the influence operating upon the Indians, and 
the constant stream of intoxicatins^ drinks, freely given, to keep up 
that influence, prevent any thing from being said ; still the language 
of the treaty remains, and gives color to the charges made from every 
quarter, of partiality in the classification of the relations of 
THE Indians ; and if inquired into, it is found to rest, as I have said, 
upon the fact of the employment of Mr. lirodhead. If Mr. B. was 
well feed to his satisfaction, the relation was placed in the first class, 
and entitled to the largest share ; if not so well feed, in the second 
class, with a proportionate deduction of dividend ; and if not feed at 
all, in the third class, trith the smallest dividend. This classification, 
too, had no relation to blood, whether of half or quarter, but was gra- 
duated by the fee paid to Mr. Brodhead. 

Long before any claimant could understand the fate of his claim, 
Mr. Brodhead could tell all about it ; and in some cases, the claimants, 
by employing him when their claims were reported to them to be rejec- 
ted for want of proof, got them allowed by employing Mr. B. Some, 
too, who were informed by the commissioners that most of their 
claims were rejected, and but a small part granted, gave Mr. B. his 
fidl fee, and found their claims confirmed at the largest amount they 
claimed, ultimately. In most cases, Mr. B.^s fee was such a per cent 
upon the amount allowed, and secured to him out of the claim. 

The impression has obtained currency here, that the commissioners 
brought M. Brodhea<l with them, upon a bargain to share the profits 
obtained through him o^ the claimants, and half-breeds ; and that they 
have made at least $20,000 apiece; that is, Mr. B". declared his fees 
amounted to upivards q/* $60,000. Persons here calculate differently, 
and think his fees nearer to $80,000. These fees, too, were as good 
as cash in hand, being a per centum upon claims and shares. 

These, you will admit, are high-handed measures, and it is some 
relief to consider they met with a man in office who dared to give them 
a check, and even to question the correctness of their course ; and I 
do hope enough will reach the Department to induce at least a re- 
hearing in regard to the Indian relations. The claims arc possibly 
too wide-spread to admit of a re-examination, without involving great 
expense ; yet I do hope something may be done to show the dissatis- 
faction of the Government ivith such BAREFACED CORRUPTION. 
I have extended this letter so far as to leave no room for particular 
cases in point, nor do I suppose it would serve any purpose ; yet they' 
can be adduced, if required. I have merely taken up the talk as 
given to me bv many of the most respectable persons at this place. 

4 



26 Doc. No. 229. 

In the case of the claims, to have the advocacy of Mr. Brodhead, 
Mr. Dousman, and Mr. Lockwood, was sufficient to ensure the pas- 
sage of the claim. And Mr. Boil v in was a most potent advocate, and 
doorkeeper for the commhsioners frequently; indeed, most frequently 
they acted with closed doors ; and Mr. Boilvin in most cases acted 
as doorkeeper, and turned getltlemen back who were coming into the 
commissioners' office on business with them. Was it not strange, 
passing strange, to have a board to decide on the claims and report 
to the commi^sioners, (who in all cases confirmed their decisions) com- 
posed of tivo traders, themselves having large claims, and one of them 
the largest trader wiih those very Indians } To me it was astonishing. 
As I said in my former letter, if the commissioner at Rock island 
had appointed Davenport or any of the traders to examine claims, 
there would have been such discontent that I should have expected 
that the proceedings would have been forcibly stopped. 



Pbairie du Ghien, January 8, 1839. 

Dear Sir : After receiving your letters on the subject of half- 
breed claims amongst the Winnebagoes, I will freely give you all the 
information I have, or can obtain, in relation to the distribution of the 
$100,000 set apart, in the treaty of 1837, for the half-breeds of the 
Winnebagoes. As a friend, I have written you somewhat freely before, 
under feelings of deep indignation, on hearing of the shamefid specula- 
tions made on the half-breeds during the sittings of the commissioners 
sent here to adjudicate claims against the Winnebagoes, and divide 
the $100,000 given to the relations of those Indians in the treaty of 
cession of 1837. I wish you to use any part of my correspondence 
you may think proper, and in such way as you choose. In them I 
have sometimes, possibly, desired the information to rest with you, 
lest I might draw down on myself the enmity and persecution of a 
very wealthy and /'with tlie Indians) influential class of persons on 
the Indian frontier ; but, if it can be in any way useful in doing good 
to the poor DEFRAUDED half-breeds, use them all as you deem best 
for the elucidation of the subject, and the obtaining o{ justice for the 
ignorant, defrauded half-breeds. 

The information is, of course, from others, as I never saw the com- 
missioners ; and my duties with the Sacs and Foxes kept me away 
from this place during the whole time the commissioners were 
here. 

The cases of Messrs. Peon and Oliva will show the amount shaved 
off of the sums allowed them by Mr. Brodhead; and I will add 
another case of a discharj^ed soldier, named Vunk. I am unable to 
say how much Vunk was allowed by the commissioners, yet a reference 
to the name in tluir returns will show. This case of Vunk is on the 
information of Mr. Samuel Gilbert, a very reputable citizen of thia 
place, and well known to you. Vunk came to this place, some time 
in July, with a Winnebago squaw, who had a half-breed child born 



Doc. No. 229. 27 

previous to the treaty ot 1837, and lived in an old dilapidated house 
belonging to Mr. Lockwood, next door to Mr. Gilbert. Vunk was 
subject to hard drinking, and told Mr. G. he came to get a part of 
the 3100,000 given to half-breeds by the Winnebagoes, tor his child; 
that he had sold his claim to Mr. Brodhead, and would go so soon as 
the commissioners decided on the claim ; that he was to get $400, to 
be paid in Mr. Lockwood's store, and as soon as he could get it he 
intended to leave the squaw and go oif. Mr. Gilbert saw Vunk 
getting goods afterward at Lockwood's, and V. came to T. P. Street's 
store with orders from Locitwood for goods. Vunk was frequently 
drunk, and about the time the commissioners left here, V. quit the 
.place, leaving the squaw and child with the Indians ; nor is it known 
where Vunk went. The squaw and child are dependent for food and 
clothing on their own exertions, and are with a hunting party of In- 
dians on Turkey river. Every cent of the sum divided to this half- 
breed child is lost forever to the child ; Vunk sold and conveyed 
away the claim, and the money paid to him he drank out and carried 
away, abandoning the squaw and the child to the care of her people. 
What good has this done a half-breed ^ 

There are, doubtless, many similar cases ; but as most of the half- 
breeds live at Green Bay and the Portage, I have been unable to see 
them : and no information can be obtained by letter, for few of the 
half-breeds can write, and a letter would be carried to some trader, 
or to Boilvin, who is too much involved in the frauds to suffer any 
information to be given that could go to establish the frauds in which 
they have so deeply engaged. 

I am promised a few leaves from a docket, found in the quarters 
occupied by the commissioners here after the departure, which I will 
enclose if I can get them. On them may be seen, I am told, that 
every case to which Mr. Brodhead is marked as attorney for the half- 
breeds is in the first class, and of course entitled to the largest 
amount. The classification of the claims was certainly, in itself, ' 
unjust, and at once furnished the means of the most shameful specu- 
lation. If there had been no classification, the half-breeds, ignorant 
as they are, could have counted up their numbers, and, by dividing 
the $100,000 into that many parts, would see how much would be 
coming to each one ; but placed into three classes, made by arbitrary 
distinctions unknown to the half-breeds, they and every other person 
(not in the confidence of the commissioners) were alike in the dark. 
Some of thc^first class were quarter-blood, some still further off, and 
some of the third class were full half-bloods. 

The commissioners pretended to class them in proportion to their 
ability to be useful to the Indians; this, too, depending upon such 
information as they could get from Dousman, Lockwood, Boilvin, 
and Rolette, who are mostly engaged in the same speculations and 
impositions upon the half-breeds. Mr. Marsh, (a respectable merchant 
of this place,) partner of Bugbee, said to me that he knew not many 
persons of the half-breeds, but that one, a minor, was allowed g6,000, 
and, he understood, had sold his or her claim to Mr. Brodhead. 
Mr. Marsh further said, that when half-breeds first came to this place 
to attend upon the commissioners, the general opinion expressed by 
them was, that each one would get about $1,000 of the glOO,000 



28 Doc. No. 229. 

to their share, 'i'liey said there was about a hundred persons of the 
relations ; that there were not more than five either over or under that 
number, and therefore they would get about $1,000 each. But very 
soon he heard of the classification, and the arbitrary rule of class- 
ing, by the commissioners — not on the principles of the laws of the 
United States, according to blood, but according to the possible use- 
fulness that the person might be to the Winnebago tribe, to be judged 
of by the commissioners, dependant on information obtained from the 
before-mentioned packed source. This confounded all calculation 
amongst the relations and whites, (except those in the confidence 
of the commissioners,) the initiated few. The consequence was, 
the relations who were in the dark were persuaded by Brodhead, 
aided by Dousman, Brisboi?, Boilvin, Lockwood, &c., that they 
would get very little, and strongly urged by all these advisers to sell 
to Brodhead ; and the same management deterred merchants and 
other capitalists from coming into contact with a man domiciliated 
with the commissioners at private lodgings, who appeared the con- 
fidential friend and adviser of the commissioners, and, if he chose, 
could, and occasionally did, let persons know the decisions of the 
commissioners long before they were known to any other person. So 
deeply were the half-breeds and many other claimants impressed with 
the belief that the commissioners and Mr. Brodhead were acting in 
concert, that they generally spoke of Mr. B. as one of the commis- 
sioners. 

One evening Mr. Brodhead came into a boarding-house with the 
commissioners, and sat for some time figuring on a paper, and 
exclaimed ; "Not a bad business ; THEY amount to $(>0-000, 
which, divided by four, gives $1^,000 TO EACH — NOT A 
BAD BUSINESS." Mr. B. did not explain further, possibly as 
theve ivere several other persons in the room; but Marsh suspected, 
from all the appearances, he meant himself, one or both the Com- 
missioners, and Messrs. Dousman and Lockwood ; if the commis- 
sioners were concerned, Dousman, Brodhead, and the commissioners^ 
IF Cameron alone of the commissioners, then Dousman, Brodhead, 
Cameron, and Lockwood, made the four. Boilvin and Brisbois were 
evidently merely 't<seJ, and found their account in the passage of 
such accounts as they laid in against the Indians, or got some small 
sop ; and witli this last class Lockwood may be numbered, as being 
bought by something in proportion to tlieir limited head-pieces. 

Mr. Marsh, though, thinks $60,000 was too small an amount, if 
Mr. Brodliead purchased all the h:df-breeds ; so he thinks tliere were 
four persons engaged in B.'s speculations, amounting to $60,000, and 
that Dousman and Lockwood iiad nuide speculations seperately. At 
this ])lace 1 can certainly hear of but one case loisold : that is a half- 
bree(l, named Mitchell, for whom Doctor Moore drew as agent, and 
the draft was placed in my hands by T. P. Street, to be used by me 
to refund sonic money advanced by me for Moore and Street, and 
assigned to I'raKo, Chouteau, & Co. ; this is for $600. The half- 
breed lives with Doctor Moore, and is about eight or nine years old. 
The case of Mrs. Campbell, (late Sophia Palen) is drawn to Dous- 
man, agent lor I'alcn, or Cani|)l)ell,) and Dousman said is for $600; 
and in my hearing he told Campbell he could let him (C) have but 



Doc. No. 229. 29 

S500 ; for, said Dousman, '*if / had not attemled to your case you 
would not have got a cent." Moore and T. P. Street are merchants, 
trading as Moore and Street. 

The intorniation given is, principally, from the following sources, 
to wit: 

Peon's case from Mr. Peon, the father, and 'Sir. Oliva, all living here. 

Oliva's case, rom Oliva, . . . Jo. do. 

The other cases given by Oliva, - - do. do. 

Vunk's case, Samuel Gilbert, - - do. do. 

Palen or Campbell's case, of my own knowledge ; Campbell and 
wife, Lower Rapids. 

Brodhead's declaration of the $6O,OO0, Mr. Marsh, living 
here. 

The other information is from Mr. Marsh, and the general suspicion 
of the speculalion of the Commissioners from various persons here, 
who all seem to think that, from all the appearances, B. and the com- 
missiojiers were concerned and acted together. 

The secretary, Mr. Featherstonhaugh, said that the commissioners 
did not care a fig whether the disbursing agent paid their drafts for 
expenses or not; GENERAL CAMERON had brought xipwanls of 
$60,000 along with him, of his own money. Mr. B. made a similar 
declaration in Mr. Boyd's presence. What could this 860,000 be 
brought here for? And does not- the amount strangely correspond 
with Mr. B.'s soliloquy about the 860,000 divided by 4 making 
815,000— "not a bad business.?" One thing is certain: $100,000 
teas to have been distributed to the half-breeds. Drafts for the whole 
amount have been made, and to whom ? And who has the le";al right 
over this large amount? The half-breeds? No. Mr. Brodhead, 
Mr. Dousman, Mr. Lockwood, &c. Some few thousand dollars in 
notes of A BANK m MiDDLETow N, /'«!»., o/VVHICH S. CAMERON 
IS CASHIER, tvere paid for these claims to ludf -breeds here, and I 
can hear of no obligations even for the payinent of any more here. This 
is a strange disappearance q/'$|CO,000. Mr. Dousman said to 
me that there whs not SUOOO of the drafts for parts of the $100,000 
in Prairie du Chien, for thev went to St. Louis on the same boat with 
the commissioners. Mr. Dousman farther said to-day (8tli January, 
^839) "Major H. did wrong to suspend the payments, and lie will 
be made to sec it, and fed it tool I have ordered all my cases to be 
protested legally, and have no doubt about it I will get the amounts 
and EXPENSES of puotest. " This was said in my hearing, in pre- 
sence of several gentlemen. At tiie same place, in a conversation 
with Mr. Rolette, he said "it would have been well enough to take 
security of persons to whom the money of half-breed Viinors was paid; 
for at St. Peter's, in paying half-breed Sioux, some 8^,000 was paid 
to Stanibaugh, but little of which will ever go to the half-breeds." 
I did not reply. 

The request made in a former letter, that the information given 
should remain with you only, proceeded from a desire not to subject 
myself to the persecution it might raise, without any benefit to the 
half-breeds, and not from a want of evidence of the truth of the infor- 
mation. Now, if any thing can be done to obtain justice for the 
half-breeds, I freely give you leave to use whatever I have written, 



30 Doc. No. 229. 

in such way as may best subserve the cause of right and justice. To 
me it seems BASE and unpardonable, that men chosen by the Fresi- 
dent, and sent at a great expence so far, to see yus/ice done to the 
Indians and to the half-breeds, should sufter such speculations to go 
on under their noses, as it were, by a lawyer coming with them from 
the same portion of country they inhabit, and living all the time with 
the commissioners and in close intimacy with them. Even if the com- 
missioners were not interested in the speculations, to suffer it, and 
in such a way, too, IS MONSTROUS. Yet^ the only money paid 
OUT WAS THE NOTES OF THE MiDDLETowN bank, of ivMck General 
Cameron is cashier ; and his friend, the secretary of the commissio- 
ners, boasted General C. HAD BROUGHT ON $60'000 5 
and no other bank-notes were flush about this place at the time, but 
miserable depreciated paper of Wisconsin. The Middletown notes 
were gladly received, and were the only paper currency at the place, 
until the quantity of specie was paid to the Indians, when some of 
it was taken up for specie, to get light money to travel on. 

I regret that Mr. Marsh went into the country and I failed to see 
him, as I expected, to-day; when he promised, if practicable, to get 
the leaves of the docket and hand them over to me. If I cannot see 
Mr. M. before the mail closes, they shall come in the next mail, 
three days hence. In my conversation with gentlemen here about 
the commissioners, they unite in an opinion that there was too close 
an INTIMACY between Mr. B. and the commissioners for them to re- 
main ignorant of Mr. B.'s speculations ; and they think Mr. B. knew 
too much of the state of their decisions before being known to any 
other persons, for the Commissioners to beyVeefrom some interest 
in the business carrying on by B. ; at least, such seems decidedly 
THE CASE AS TO GENERAL C, Mr. Murray is described as 
a nervous hypochondriac, of extremely singular manners, and of un- 
equalled irritable mind, though generally distant and gentlemanly in 
his deportment. Public mind here seems to favor the opinion that 
Murray zvus INNOCENT, possibly, of any pecuniary interest in the 
speculations ; but, froin his disposition, declined prying into General 
C.'s CONDUCT, or thrusting himself forward as an upright just man 
would have done, to save a parcel of ignorant fellow-creatures from 
being so cruelly fleeced by GENERAL C. and Mr. B. 

The half-breeds, too, thought there was no relief — the offers of Mr. 
B. or nothing. These were men sent by the President, stood high 
in his favor, and what tliey did would be approved. Besides, the 
Sioux commissioners came down in the time, and the whites who had 
been up to prey upon them, and all united in high approbation of the 
plan of classification ; and some declared in my presence that this 
(the classification) was made in obedience to the orders of the Secre- 
tary of War, which Mr. Dousman assured me he had seen. 

All this taken together by unlettered, ignorant half-breeds, brought 
them to the conclusion to take any thing Mr. B. offered; for they 
considered it was that or nothing. Many had come more than 100 
miles, and remained here on expenses for a long time, and had no 
money to pay ; they were forced to sell, to get away. The time taken 
to simply divide $100,000 between less than 100 half-breeds was out 
ofall reason J and there is no apology for making the half-breeds 



Doc. No. 229. S-l 

remain here until the claimants for debts shoulJ come in, an<l their 
claims be decided upon. The half-breeds mi^lit [have been acted 
upon, and their business completed in Vifeio dcnjs ; and yet the com- 
missioners kept tliem here, and their cases undecided, near seventy 
or eighty days. They did not even know what they were adjudged to 
receive until a few days before the departure of the commissioners 
from this place. When they learned (partially at last) how deep they 
had been shaved, they began to murmur so loud, thai Mr. B.., in 
Peon's case, had to plank itp $300 in addition to the sum lie had 
given him for the two claims of his children, (two minors,) who may 
or may not get the $1,100 given by Mr. B. ; yet the commissioners 
gave their certificate to pay Mr. B. $3,200/or those two claims. 

From all the calculations I can make from data here, out of the 
$100,000 the half-breeds got about ^32,000, or $35,000 nominally ; 
for much was paid in merchandise, at high rates, out of Mr. Lock- 
wood's and the American Fur Company's stores. 

I am told by T. P. Street, a merchant of this place, that he had a 
claim against the Winnebagoes for merchandise sold them ; that Mr. 
B. beset him for some time after his claim was handed in to employ 
him at 10;;er cent on the amount allowed, and assured him he hacl 
better do it to get any thing. He decKned, and said his account was 
plain, and the commissioners might decide on them without a lawyer, 
for he would not employ him. Mr. B. still persisted, and Mr. S.'s 
books were required. He gave them up to the commissioners, but 
still told Mr. B. he would not employ him; that his accounts were 
plain ; the Indians acknowledged it ; and the commissioners might 
do what they pleased with it — he cared not. A few days before they 
left, they gave him a certificate for the amount. 

If, out of all my letters on this subject, you can obtain infor- 
mation that will enable the Department to do justice to the abused 
and CHEATED half-breeds, I shall feel much gratification. 

I have the honor to assure you of my high respect, and am your 
most obedient, 

JOS. M. STREET, 

U. S. Indian ^gent. 
Major E. A. Hitchcock, 

Mil. Dis^bg Agent, Ind. Dept. 

P. S. — A few days past Mr. Lockwood said he felt perfectly sure 
his part of the $100,000 would be paid ; for when the commissio- 
ners got to Washington, they would induce the Secretary of War 
to have all paid ; for, said he, Mr. Brodhead has too deep a stake 
in the half-breed claims for the COMMISSIONERS to see him 
suffer. I feel no fear for the event. 

JOS. M. STREET. 



32 Doc. No. 229. 



APPEIVDIX. 



Washington City, March 12, 1839. 

Sir : T have the honor to submit the following remarks, (with 
copies of letters,) in view of tlie letters of Messrs Cameron and 
Murray of the 20th and 24th ultimo, respectively, on the subject of the 
Winnebago half-breed money. 

Referring to my reports upon this subject, especially those of the 
6th and 8th of November last, and desiring as tar as possible to avoid 
repetition, I have to observe that, in order to understand tlie motives 
of my conduct, (wliich General Cameron more particularly is dispo- 
sed to question,) it will be necessary to take into view my con- 
duct towards the half-breeds of the Sioux, who were entitled to 
$110,000. 

Under date of September 9, 1838, I reported to the Commissioner 
of Indian Affairs the preparation of two steamboats for departure 
from St. Louis, with annuity and other supplies for the Sioux and 
Chippewas. For the half-breeds of the latter tribe, I had placed on 
board of one of the boats $50,000 in specie ', but I remark, in my 
report of the date referred to, as follows : 

"You have not sent the fund for the half-breeds, for either the 
Sioux, (8110,000,) or VVinnebagoes, ($100,000,) but say they will be 
sent in due season. I have examined very carefully all your instruc- 
tions, copies of letters to Governor Dodge, &c., and cannot resist the 
belief, that the payment was designed to be made to the half-breeds 
of the Sioux, on the decision of the commissioners, in the same manner 
as in the case of the Chippewas. The boats now about to go up will 
probably be the last that will ascend the river (to St. Peter's) this 
season, so that another opportunity of sending the specie may not 

occur. 

* * * * * * * * • 

"In the hope that I shall but anticipate your wishes, I shall send 
8110,000 in specie for the Sioux halt-breeds, with the most careful 
instructions as to its disposition. * * * * I cannot 

furnish the §100,000 for the VVinnebagoes, and there is not the same 
importance in so doing at this time, for there will be frequent 
opportunities of remitting the funds to Prairie du Chien hereafter." 

The directions given by myself in reference to the payment of the 
$110,000 were addressed in writing to the special agent, Mr. F. 
Pfister, making a part of very minute instructions, under date of the 
10th of September, to wit : 

"The commissioners having been directed to decide upon the half- 
breed claims under the Sioux treaty, * * * * it 
seems important that payment should immediately follow the decision^ 
otherwise the claimants may disperse, and create a difficulty in their 
future recognition, sufficient to render the labors of the commissio- 
ners nugatory. You will therefore place in the hands of Lieutenant 
Whiteborne $110,000 in specie, for payment, under the 2d paragraph, 



Doc. No. 229. 83 

2d article of the treaty with the Sioux of 1837, .id vising hiin that it is 
the express directions from this oftice that no part of tliis money be 
paid to any proxy, to any person holding a receipt, or pretending in 
any manner to REPRESENT a claimant. That the money will be 
paid only to a claimant in his own proper person, and then only on 
the requisition of the commissioners, countersigned by the Indian 
agent; and this principle you will please observe yourself, in the 
similar payments you may make to the Chippewa half-breeds." 

These directions, which will sufficiently show the principle I deem- 
ed to be important in the payment contemplated, were repeated by 
myself in a detailed letter of instructions to Lieutenant Whitehorne, 
of the same date, the 10th of September, to wit : 

"I have to observe, that the fund ($110,000) for the half-breeds 
[^Sioux] has not been remitted by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
and I have taken the responsibility of forwarding it without instruc- 
tions. 

"My object is two-fold : to make use of the most convenient oppor- 
tunity, and at the same time to satisfy the claimants. If the com- 
missioners have ample instructions, which I must assume to be the 
fact, and will specifically set forth the claims of the half-breeds, indi- 
cating their persons and assigning the amounts to be paid, you can 
take official evidence over their signatures, and, with the official 
sanction of the Indian agent, you can pay the amounts in specie to the 
particular claimants." 

On the following day, the 11th of September, I made a report to 
his excellency Henry Dodge, Governor of Wisconsin, and ex-officio 
superintendent of Indian affairs, from which the following is an 
extract : 

"The fund for the payment of the Sioux half-breeds has not been 
sent to me from the Treasury. This circumstance has induced a 
step on my part which I hope may not be productive of evil. I had 
on hand a considerable balance, due for purposes not immediately 
requiring an expenditure ; and I have sent it, without instructions 
from Washington, to pay the half-breeds of the Sioux, under the 
treaty of 1837, 8110,000. I had received the money for the Chip- 
pewa half-breeds, (S50,000,) and was furnished copies of letters to 
yourself, in one of which the Commissioner of Indian Affairs says the 
half-breed money will be sent in 'due season,' for the Sioux and 
Winnebagoes. 

"I considered that to pay the Chippewas and not the Sioux would 
appear singular ; that although those tribes were at war, the fact of 
payment [to either] would be known [to the other,] and any difference 
of treatment would be marked. I also thought this opportunity the 
most convenient, if not perhaps the last that will occur this season. 
I further thought, that if the commissioners, under your directions, 
should designate the half-breeds, and the amounts due them, respec- 
tively, an immediate payment would prevent all future difficulty ; 
whereas, were the payment to be delayed, and the half-breeds disperse, 
there would be nearly as much difficulty hereafter in identifying the 
claimants as before the commissioners entered upon duty. * * * 
* * * Add to all these considerations, the Indians, were the 

5 



34 Doc. No. 229. 

half-breeds not paid, would be likely to be influenced by them unfa- 
vorably. 

"I have been thus particular in stating the reasons for my conduct, 
because I am anxious to justify myself. I have consulted the treaty, 
and all the instructions referring to this matter, and find nothing 
which seems to contemplate a delay of payment. 

*'To guard against erroneous payments, I have ordered that specie 
only be paid, and that no payment be made to any representative of 
any claimant." * * * * * * 

No one can read these letters and reports, and imagine for a single 
moment that I had the slightest disposition, as intimated by General 
Cameron, to retain public money in my hands. 

In the case I have stated, I was under no instructions to send a 
single dollar for the Sioux half-breeds, and the letters will show my 
reasons for taking a heavy responsibility, and the precautions resorted 
to for the protection of the half-breeds. 

No one can imagine, having a knowledge of the facts I have shown, 
that I could pay at St. Louis the drafts of the Winnebago commissio- 
ners in favor of third persons, on account of the Winnebago half- 
breeds. 

Why should I have been so particularly careful in my instructions 
to others, in all that related to the Sioux and Chippewa half-breeds, 
and contradict all my principles in my own conduct at St. Louis, in 
relation to Winnebago half-breeds ? In this showing of the case, it is 
preposterous to suppose that I could for a single instant have thought 
of paying the money on the drafts of the commissioners in favor of 
third persons. 

In my report of the 6th ot November, to the Commissioner of In- 
dian Affairs, I have stated the time at which I received the money for 
the Winnebago half-breeds, and the time I sent it to Prairie du 
Chien. 

General Street, who is so unworthily referred to by Mr. Murray, 
was in St. Louis when it was may wish to send the money to Prairie 
du Chien. I requested him to take charge of it, and convey it there. 
He was, however, unwilling to take the hazard of so a heavy charge in 
specie, and I had not the shadow of right to require such a service 
from him. We conversed uponthe subject some time, alluding to the 
loss by theft of 815,000 in spe^, only a few weeks before, at Prairie 
du Chien. After maturely considering the subject, I determined to 
send the notes of the Bank of the State of Missouri. That bank was 
the authorized place of deposite for my public money. My funds 
were there in specie. That bank has never refused payment in specie 
for her notes, since she went into operation. 

In order, however, to protect the half-breeds, I requested the 
cashier of the bank to furnish me with notes of one denomination, 
(20's,) for the whole $100,000, explaining to him that I could not 
send the specie, for the reason stated above. He accordingly fur- 
nished me with $100,000 in 20-dollar notes of the Bank of the State 
of Missouri, the specie for which was in the vaults of the bank, subject 
to the call of whoever might hold the notes. 

As upwards of 8200,000 in specie had but a few weeks before been 
paid by the Indian department on the Mississippi river, I naturally 



Doc. No. 229. 35 

supposed that a large portion would fall into the hands of traders, who 
would gladly exchange it for the notes sent for the Winnebago half- 
breeds; and the following letters of instruction were given by me in 
reference to the payment of the Winnebago half-breeds. 

Under date of October 16, I addressed Dr. J. C. Reynolds : 

"Sir: I send by the hands of General Street, Indian agent, 
8100,000 for payment to the Winnebago half-breeds, under the 4th 
article of the treaty of 1837- 

"This money will be paid to the particular individuals who shall be 
designated, and for whom specific amounts shall be required by the 
United States commissioners (Messrs. Murray and Cameron) for the 
examination of claims under the treaty. You will please pay theTpre- 
cise amounts required (not exceeding the whole amount) to the parti- 
cular individuals for whom required, taking such evidence as is ne- 
cessary in the payment of annuities. 

It is presumed as much specie can be procured, in exchange for 
notes, as will be necessary for satisfying the claims of those who may 
be unacquainted with the nature of paper money ; for all others, bills 
of one denomination (20's) are furnished ; and especial care will be 
taken, in all cases, to explain the value of the money, and that it is 
receivable in the land ofi&ce." 

To Lieutenant McKissack I wrote, under the same date, as fol- 
lows : 

"I have sent, by the hands of General Street, 8100,000 to Dr. 
Reynolds, for payment to the Winnebago half-breeds. Should Dr. 
Reynolds have left Prairie du Chien, I request you to receive from 
General Street the money, and open the letter in his charge from this 
office, to the address of Dr. Reynolds, and execute the instructions 
therein contained." 

After this sending the money to be paid at Prairie du Chien, I was 
astonished, on the 5th of November, to find Lieutenant McKissack 
at St. Louis, with the whole amount. 

As Mr. Murray (or Mr. Cameron) lays much stress upon my ex- 
pressing regret to Lieutenant McKissack that the money was not paid 
at Prairie du Chien, I must observe, that I made the remark alluded 
to, not as regretting the non-payment of the drafts of the commission- 
ers, but I regretted that the half-breeds themselves had not been 
paid. All of my letters and reports on the subject of half-breed money 
will show to what my regret referred. 

It I had desired the payment of the drafts, it was the expressed opin- 
ion of the commissioners that I not only had authority to make the 
payment, but that I was required to make it ; and if it was really so, 
whether my agent paid the money at Prairie du Chien, or myself at 
St. Louis, was a matter of indifference. 

On the evening of the 5th of November, I called to pay my respects 
to the commissioners, who had arrived at St. Louis the same day with 
the money, but in another steamboat. The subject of the mode of 
payment determined upon by the commissioners was discussed more 
than I desired in a public reading-room ; and I insist upon it that 
much argument was then and there wasted, to prove that the half- 
breeds were dispersed, and could not be found by the paying agents 
of the Indian department. 



S6 Doc. No. 229. 

In the evening of that day I prepared the report of the 6th of No- 
vember. I liad not, up to that time, heard of any particulars in rela- 
tion to the proceedings of the commissioners, except that tlie mode 
of payment determined by them set aside the principle which all 
my letters will show I deemed indispensable. Your letter of instruc- 
tions to me of the 20th of November, approving my conduct, will show 
that I was correct as to that principle. 

Under the impression that this departure from the principle of a 
direct payment to the half-breeds might be overlooked by the Depart- 
ment, unless there should be reason to fear that the half-breeds had 
been duped and cheated, I gave my opinion to the claimants that the 
drafts might ultimately be paid ; caid this fact makes apart of my 
letter to the Commissioner of Indian Jiffairs of the 6th of November. 

My letter of the Tth substantially repeats this ; for, by requesting 
authority to require bonds from trustees, I virtually intimate my ex- 
pectation of orders to pay the drafts. 

I have now to add a few words in explanation of my intercourse 
with General Street, which has fallen under the severe censure of Mr. 
Murray. It gives me great pleasure to do an act of justice to a high- 
spirited, intelligent, and conscientious man, who has attained years 
and respectability, but neither honors nor fortune, in a life spent in 
the public service. 

It will be recollected that General Street undertook to convey, and 
did convey, $100,000 to Pi-airie du Chien for the Government. This 
was an extra-official act ; and by this voluntary act, for which he re- 
ceived no compensation, his passage in the steamboat even not being 
paid, he saved to the Government not less than $300 or $400, which 
it would have cost had I employed a special agent to perform that 
service. 

Having been the bearer of the money for the half-breeds, he very 
naturally referred, in a private letter he addressed to me on the 1st 
of November, to tlie proceedings of the commissioners, and on the 
10th wrote again on the subject. The opinions and feelings expressed 
by him on the occasion place him above the reach of the commission- 
ers ; written, as they were, before he could have known any thing 
of the suspension of payment at St. Louis on my part. On the receipt 
of his second letter, I wrote to him a very brief statement of my pro- 
ceedings, simply VQi\\.\QsW\\^\\\m, if he thought proper, to communicate 
such information to me as he miglit have or could procure. This was 
a private letter, of which I never had any copy ; but the following 
letter, addressed to the Rev. Mr. Lowry, will show the spirit with 
which I prosecuted the incjuiry. Adding here, that General Street 
followed the dictate of his own sense of what was due from an officer 
of the Government, in his communications to me, I will now present 
a copy of my letter to Mr. Lowry, wliich Mr. Murray has called for, 
with strong intimations that it contained something improper; and I 
desire him to read it in connexion with my report to the Commis- 
sioner of Indian Alfairs of the 3d of December : 



/ 



'St. Louis, December 4, 1838. 



Sir : You may have heard that the payment of half-breed money 
for the VVinnebagocs has been suspended, I have need of information 



Doc. No. 229. 87 

m reference to the conduct of the commissioners at Prairie du Cliien, 
and I address you as an ofiicer of the Government, in a position likely 
to give you some means of information on this suhject. I also refer 
to you, as a man of judgment and discretion, able to discriminate 
between mere rumor and established facts, and tender of the reputa- 
tion of men whose characters may be involved in the mutter.^'' 

[I underscore these lines, for the especial observation of Mr. 
Murray and proceed with the letter.] 

"If you have any direct knowledge, I will thank you to communi- 
cate it; or if you can make inquiries of the half-breeds interested, or 
other persons who may be in the knowledge of facts, I wish you to 
inform me of the result. 

"Existing reports are also important in the first stages of an in- 
vestigation, not to be relied on themselves, but as pointing out sour- 
ces of information ; and I will thank you, therefore, to state impres- 
sions, if any, which may seem to have general credit. 

"I know you can have no other interest or principles in this matter 
than such as I participate in myself. 

"I ought to inform you that the Secretary of War has approved of 
the suspension of payment, and will expect, and certainly has a right 
to expect, the officers of the Government to use their endeavors to 
protect the objects of its care from wrong ; a duty to the half-breeds 
in this case, and necessary for the presesvation of the dignity of the 
Government. 

"With great respect and regard, your obedient servant, 

"E. A. HITCHCOCK, 

Major, fyc. 
"Rev. D. LowRY. 

Principal, <^'C., Prairie du Chien. 



Mr. Murray notices the absence, on the part of Mr. Lowry, of any 
communication such as he indicated in the letter enclosed by me, on 
the 5th of December, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. By a 
letter of the 8th of Januaiy, Mr.' Lowry informs me that it was his 
intention to sign a letter or statement, jointly with General Street, 
having been present and assisted in the inquiries of General Street, but 
that the state of the ice in the Mississippi river prevented his going 
to Prairie du Chien, and that General Street sent the letter without 
his signature. 

I have thus furnished a statement of my proceedings in relation to 
half-breeds of Chippewas, Sioux, and Winnebagoes, which, as already 
observed, should be considered together as a whole, in order that my 
conduct shall be properly understood. 

I am under no concern in relation to this matter. If my letter of 
tl\e 8th of November was severe upon the commissioners, it was writ- 
ten under very strong impressions of duty, and I never expected the 
commissioners would read it with complacency. My object was not 
to defame or distress them, but to exhibit the importance of suspen- 
ding payment until inquiries could be made ; and for this purpose I 
stated such facts as I had heard, and gave such impressions as I had 



38 Doc. No. 229. 

formed. Under similar circumstances I would take the same course, 
and no apprehension of consequences could deter me from it. 

Although my reports of the 6th and 8th of November are long, and 
convey some variety of facts and impressions, nothing has since come 
to my knowledge to induce any change, with the single exception that 
I had mistaken the person of one ot the trustrees, misled by the name, 
and supposed him a notorious gambler. 

As for GENERAL CAMERON'S insinuation that I desired to 
retain and use the public money, as a reason for my not paying the 
drafts, I BLUSH FOR HIM while I appeal to the case of the Sioux 
half-breed money, and deny it. He should have been ashamed of the 
MEANNESS that could induce him to utter such an insinuation; but I 
spare him, in pity for his WEAKNESS, while I despise his 
MALICE. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

E. A. HITCHCOCK, 

Major, Disbursing Agent, 

Hon. T. Hartley Crawford, 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 






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